


「rainfall」

by tenderfirstlove



Series: Detroit: Beyond Replicant [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Blade Runner Fusion, Conrad - Freeform, Ethan - Freeform, Gen, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Niles - Freeform, Nines - Freeform, Richard - Freeform, and im surprised to see like no, bc i just cant choose his name, blade runner aus, connor is basically rachael, connor is only mentioned although !, edit; forgot to that that convin omg im fucking stupid, etc - Freeform, gavin takes dechard's place, i can't believe i wrote 6 bloody pages, i give rk900 a different name in like evry fic, i love them all they r all cute ok, i recently rewatched blade runner, i've altered the scene a little to fit what im going for, rk900 takes the place of batty, so here have another au from me, so hope yall dont mind yeet, there r so many cool ones
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2019-07-04 09:22:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15838359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tenderfirstlove/pseuds/tenderfirstlove
Summary: ❝ All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in the rain. ❞





	「rainfall」

Detective Reed looked up, clinging to metal heap that stuck out on the side of the building, rain pulsating and hitting him like concrete as he desperately tried not to slip and fall. Through gasps and coughs of rain water, his own desperate blue eyes searched around his own figure to find something else to hang onto to keep himself steady.

The rain wasn't making that any easier although.

A certain air of superiority dawned over the deviated replicant glancing down with his jaw held high, his face full of scratches and nicks, yet two injuries stood out the most. Hauntingly vivid blue as the rain slicked black locks down, straightening them from their original bouncy texture, the gashes across his forehead and cheek never ending their flow of artificial blood as the rain continually washed over his holographic skin and tattered clothes.

A black button up, ripped from seam to seam, filled with little holes and awry threads, ends of the sleeves meeting his wrist, his knuckles flushing baby blue due to his strengthened and constant clenching as he watched the detective struggle and squirm whilst he caught his own breaths to cool down his systems. The detective's fingers slipped and grasped anew, arms getting weary and tired from holding himself up for so long, eyes tightly screwed shut to focus more on his already risky grip on the wet metal structure.

Nines stepped back a few steps as he took a deep breath, clinging onto a his ragged clothing before he sighed and turned around, running to the edge of the building and jumping across to be in front of and near Detective Reed.

The man didn't see this as he flinched from the shock of feeling the wind and force of the replicant above himself before he had landed on the rooftop, he glanced  behind himself and below; eyes widening in shock and fear as he grasped the metal with even more desperation, re-adjusting his feet on the thin pane of the building sticking out whilst he hooked his forearm over the sleek and smooth top of the metal rod sticking out, his other hand's fingers moving agilely to have his whole hand instead on its surface, he could feel the rusty metal scratching at his palm, the smell of petrichor* and iron mingling in the air as his muscles filled with increasingly more tension.

The man shivered and shook, looking up to the sky as droplets fell on his face and slid down, his soggy and rain-filled clothing dragging him further down and away from safety's arms as he saw a familiar face approach, a paler one than his own.

The blood from the gash on his forehead mingled with the rain, his eyes un-moving and uncanny as he stared into the detective's, determined. He knelled down, leaning further and closer to the other, his mouth slightly open as he heaved, small streaks of blue blood intersecting with rain, becoming lighter and paler as it was diluted, ghosting over his lips and chin, cheeks and small droplets falling to the ground beneath his feet, disappearing into the rest of the familiar drops of liquid. 

Desperate languid blue eyes with heavy eye bags unscrewed as they bore into the greyish steel blue ones from above himself. The man found his forearms aching as he only grasped the rod with the palms of his hands and his rough fingers, occasionally spitting out a mouth of rainwater that dribbled down his face and into his mouth, distracting from a clear view and thought process. The only things on his mind becoming almost like white noise in the background.

Connor.

Death.

A non-existent after-life.

What kind of after-life would a man like him be blessed with ? Certainly not heaven, more likely hell.

Full of his deepest fears and darkest nightmares fathomable to his puny mind.

Nines stared at Reed, face blank and neutral as the other's contorted, expressive.

His eyebrows slowly furrowed with disturbance as his eyes mapped out each feature of the rugged face in front of him, cataloguing every pore and imperfection, the line of the scar across the man's nose which bled into his cheek ever so faintly.

Reed could only look into those eyes. Those conflict-filled eyes, as if he couldn't quite grasp whatever Gavin was doing, what he was thinking, if he could even read the thoughts that were running through his head. Pictures and clips of Connor haunted him, he could hear his soft voice in his head, a phantom, there yet...not quite tangible. He swore he could feel those soft and nimble fingers on his cheek, with the lightest touch that had displayed the fraction of intimacy between them, a french kiss without lips. 

Gavin could imagine the look in those brown puppy eyes, soft and warm, synthetic as ever yet more human than most of the people he locked up and saw on the sidewalks every day. He knew he loved Connor, more than anything else that had came into his life. He might not have been made from the same flesh that Gavin was; or have the same blood running through his veins, he might not have the same type of non glowing eyes as humans possessed...But he had shown more humanity than any other person he knew.

The warmth in his eyes, the gentle affection and care in his words, those meaningful touches they shared... It was almost impossible to think how he'd once thought of Connor as a soul-less being, a husk, a replicated life-like doll on a shelf when in reality he was so much more.

So painfully human.

And now he will never see those brown eyes again, flickering with interest and curiosity.

He will never hear that somewhat goofy voice that managed to be laced with tenderness.

He will never get to feel Connor's warmth. 

Not that he deserved it anyway, after all those awful things he'd done to replicants in the past.

He doesn't even know how the replicant above him hasn't finished him off yet, he was supposed to be programmed to be bloodthirsty and vengeful, wasn't he ?

Or did he just naturally love to play with his prey before he killed them ?

Whatever it was, he didn't want to waste his last moments thinking of his death, something so dark and devoid of hope. 

Instead, he wanted to spend it on thoughts of Connor, thoughts filled with love and compassion.

Things that Nines probably couldn't fathom or grasp so lightly, he probably felt rage and grief after what Reed had done.

He could only imagine as he felt the pressure drilling into his eyes as they never broke their shared gaze.

"Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it ?"

Gavin could feel the intensity and weight of those words, clashing against him as his fingers kept slipping and sliding thanks to the water, grip never quite catching.

"That's what it is to be a slave."

Those hardened eyes glanced to focus on his fingers, giving away to pressure are he barely held on, his own eyes looking down at his demise, his road's ends. He could feel his own harsh breaths and grunts and he tried to keep on clinging to the rod, to life, feeling pathetic as the replicant simply stared at him, enjoying and indulging in his own sadistic ways with a crazy glint in his eyes that fought with some other feeling.

His right hand felt like it was burning from the pressure and weight, it had slipped so dynamically that he was left with only his left, weakly and barely resisting the idea of letting go, he could already feel it giving out so keenly.

A smug and equally crazy grin was soon plastered onto Nines' face.

Reed let out a harsh wheeze before yelping as his fingers slipped free and he began to fall, he squeezed his eyes shut in panic. 

He reopened them as he felt an intense pressure on his wrist, the replicant was holding his whole body up just with a single hand, staring at him in awe as his hands shook from the sudden weight they had to carry, his mouth was open as he grunted and wheezes, half-lidded steel blue eyes peering into the detective's own shocked ones- It wasn't long until they cut the eye contact and the rogue replicant began to pull him up, mouth pursing shut as he breathed through his nostrils harshly, pulling the man up and off the ledge slowly, grip as tight as it could be.

Reed only shivered and shook in his grasps, legs moving back and fro to find something sturdy to stand on, looking for that comforting familiar pressure beneath his feet. He let out a pained cough as he choked on his own big intakes of air, his body colliding with the harsh roof-top as Nines threw him down, breathing out a harsh breathe of relief.

He rolled sightly onto his side as his wet shirt rolled up to reveal his stomach and chest, scrambling backwards as the replicant moved closer and closer, fascinated with the features of his expression, his hand felt a wall and he pressed himself against it roughly, his back was screaming in pain as it ached. His chest heaved up and down roughly, adrenaline from the previous experience of almost dying only to be saved by a war machine making his heart palpitate with a new-found excitement.

Nines towered over him with an unreadable expression, eyes trained on his face as Reed stared up at him. His own eyes filled with an array of various emotions; disturbance, fascination, relief amongst many others. He moved every so often, trying to get closer to the wall he was already crushed into, still coughing and heaving as intensely as seconds before as a new wave of tension rolled over and into the air.

The replicant shuffled his feet before leaning and sitting down onto the ground, a tired expression seeping into his features as he stared at Reed, over-exerted and presumably approaching the end of his line as he rested his elbow on one of his knees, the other foot was bent and hooked under the other as his hands curled open, a strangely comforting silence entering the scene as they spoke without words, eyes lingering on each other's, neon lights in the background lighting up their faces and shadowing the other's. 

His other foot came round and he crossed them, each arm resting on a respective knee. Reed was still just as tense and wary as before, his legs bent yet spread in front of him as his hands pressed against the wall behind him, back of his head hitting the hard surface softly, eyes never leaving the replicant's, the same expression unchanging.

Nines quirked his head in his direction, his eye's lower eyelid coming up as the corners of his lips twitched up ever so slightly before he spoke up with an eccentrically yet monotone smooth tone, blue blood running down his face carelessly and down his neck, seeping under his black tattered clothes and painting him angelically bizarre,"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe." A scoff made its way past his lips, sounding breathless as he held the same curious expression whilst paying close attention to Reed's reactions.

"Peaceful protests being shut down in the centre of Detroit, tens of replicants destroyed and ripped apart by bullets, by cowardly humans who wouldn't even look them in the eyes as they died, hiding behind metal shields and face masks." His eyes ripped away from Reed's as he raised his voice, carrying on, but he knew that the detective was paying attention, eyes lingering on his face evidently.

"I watched barricades being build and blown, helicopters flying past and near the town's centre. Lights trained on our leader as he sang, cornered by your people pointing at them with guns",His eyes flickered back to Gavin's, his face lifted as his mouth lost its grin and his eyes widened in effect, no hatred evident in his voice, it was calm and controlled, although defeated in the end.

Reed looked a little unsettled, hearing the replicant tell its story, eyebrows furrowed as his eyes were wide with shock, lips hanging open as his breathing came down.

"It was never a fair game, was it ?" Nines swayed his head slightly from side to side as his own brows furrowed, stubborn and like a child, somewhat angry and annoyed. He blinked harshly before looking past Reed, and at the floor, his eyes distant as he probably recalled the memories, face relaxing as the rain dripped down and rolled off, a corner of his mouth turning in an innocent smile fondly before it flattened again.

"All those..",he hesitated as his eyebrows quirked up innately, and mouth becoming small, speaking as if these words were the most delicate objects he could muster, as if he couldn't quite express his emotions into them,"moments will be.." Reed looked over his face, becoming less fearful as he relaxed. He stared at the glossed over look in his eyes, the other looked so sullen and down-trodden yet free and light. 

"Lost in time." Nines almost whispered lowly and coughed, tasting a bitter substance as it painted his teeth blue, trailing past his lips and painting a line down from the corner of his lips to the bottom of his chin and down his neck, his eyebrows furrowed as he looked back on his short life, chest heavy with conflicted feelings of denial and acceptance. He didn't want to leave, not yet, even if all his companions were dead, he didn't want to shut down, despite his cool exterior, he was melting on the inside.

The replicant carried on with a slight pout playing on his lips whenever they closed,"Like-", He was cut off by a harsh cough as he tried to breath, the dry air scratching his throat, he was already living on borrowed time.

His voice was low and soft, soothing and somehow seductive as he didn't want to meet the other's eyes.

"Like tears..",he swallowed, eyes tearing up slightly as he spoke, his feelings growing more intense as he tried to keep up that cool exterior, but Reed knew from looking at his eyes and stunted breathing that he was slowly dying in his own way. His tone shifted to melancholy, his smile shifting to a fond sadness as he finally came to the end of his words,"..In rain."

Reed's eyes shook slightly as they rapidly looked all over Nine's figure, yet stopping once they met.

All tension eased away from the air suddenly, Nine's smile reaching his eyes as the artificial skin crinkled in delight, a warm, and best described fond, exhale dissipating into the cold air. 

Gavin just stared, confused and stunted as he didn't know what to take away from his cryptic speech.

Nines spoke up again barely a whisper yet Gavin could make out his words clearly through the rain drumming down on them and their clothes as well as the floor, creating a cathartic soundtrack and ambience to this interaction.

"Time.."

A final emotion made its way onto the top of the order, the replicant finally accepting his fate.

Truly, without any doubts or reluctance. 

"..To die."

He let out a finally breathy gasp as his expressions seeped out of his face, his limbs relaxing as if strings were finally cut from a puppet. His head nodded forward as his blue eyes stayed open, a gaze devoid of life and light concentrated on the the rooftop's ground, he could still faintly hear and feel the rain on his naked features, running down like a river down his skin, weighing him down and comforting him as his story drew to a close.

The detective stilled, his eyebrows moving up in sorrow as he scanned the limb figure, paralysed as he felt his own bones turn into mush, a relief and brief realisation washing over him and his senses as he relaxed against the harsh wall at his back.

This replicant was made to be just like them in every way.

Given synthetic skin and bone and musculature, artificial blood and feelings programmed into them.

Unreal, never quite human.

Or that's what he used to think. 

He still couldn't quite come to terms with the fact that replicants were more humane than they were, displaying true emotion and capacity to feel.

Nines was proof of that, he fought his killing nature to save Reed, to save life.

That's all the detective needed to see.

To prove to himself that Connor wasn't just a fantasy come to life.

He was a real person despite being made out of artificial flesh and bone and code.

And he loved him just the way he was made to be.

Even if others doubted that love.

To him it was real as it could be.

**Author's Note:**

> *ok so basically deviant replicants are ones who are also free of their original programming like batty who decided to save dechard despite being a replicant made to be a killer, it was his final act of his own wishes, his want to be remembered as being 'truly human', a quality that humans in blade runner lost when they adopted technology and threw away individualism (also, roy does not kill the bird,like dechard, because he finally understands the importance of life, and the value of saving and preserving it).  
> *many humans are seen as dull and almost robotic in the blade runner films which contrasts the stance of replicants who are artificial humans, designed with feelings and such of their own; they were created to be lesser than humans in a sense although, as they(rogue and non rogue replicants) are seen as a threat to human society _because _of their humanity__  
>  *a thing about them that cannot be replicated despite best efforts of their creator, it has to a thing that they learn in the process of them becoming 'rogue', much like batty who _should _have killed dechart but because of that full acceptance of his own humanity in his last moments he saved him, to emphasise to us that replicants were/are in fact more humane than majority of the utopia humanity that we witness.__  
>  *at least thats sort of my take on it, i dont want to write an essay on this but i love blade runner and i hope u enjoyed reading this shitty fic lol (BTW!! * petrichor is the pleasant smell your nose often picks upon and cant quite place as fresh rain falls down from the sky after a long period of dry or warm weather.)


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